DALLAS – The Knicks have a chance to do something special these next two days. They are 12-7, a season-high five games over .500, second-best record in the mediocre East, and, truthfully, we still have no idea if they’re any good. That’s how weak the schedule has been.

The Knicks have feasted mostly on patsies, with 13 of their first 19 games against clubs with losing records. They’ve played the Clippers twice, the Hawks twice, the Bulls and the Grizzlies.

Tonight and tomorrow, they head squarely into a potential Texas Chainsaw Massacre. There’s a lot of winning going on in Texas and it’s not just by their governor.

The Knicks face the most improved team in the league tonight in Dallas (11-7), with Don Nelson fielding an awfully dangerous perimeter team these days, spearheaded by Michael Finley.

Then it’s onto San Antonio (11-5), where the Texas Towers of David Robinson and Tim Duncan always batter the undersized Knicks, who were blown out of the Alamodome in the last preseason game.

Jeff Van Gundy called rejuvenated Dallas and San Antonio “two elite teams in the West. “That is obviously where the power is,” Van Gundy said. “We will be playing two different styles. One team shoots threes (Dallas) and the other game will be power basketball. It will be good for us.”

After consecutive wins over Chicago, Minnesota and the Clippers, the Knicks try to accomplish something with lasting significance.

“This is another chance to make a good run and grow into the season instead of making it a rollercoaster,” said Allan Houston. “We can’t afford to say we won three in a row, it’s OK to take a day off. We can’t be satisfied. We can’t act like we’ve already done something, which in reality, we haven’t.

“We’re looking to win both of them,” he added. “Even though we’ve won three, it does no good to look behind. It’s going to be a good challenge. We feel if there’s ever a time to make a run and a good push, it’s a good time of the season to do that now.”

Glen Rice added, “It’s a rough trip but that’s what I’m shooting for – 2-0. No reason we can’t do it.”

Since captain-in-spirit Latrell Sprewell blew the ceiling off the locker room with his impassioned plea one week ago to quit clowning around after the Heat horror, the Knicks have rolled off a three-game winning streak. Last time the Knicks had a three-game win streak, they went to Seattle on Nov. 14 to face Patrick Ewing and, except for Marcus Camby, played shockingly uninspired.

“We try to learn from our mistakes,” Sprewell said. “The mistake we made was we were not ready for that game. We thought we were. We want to keep this thing rolling. We’ve played three good games and want to continue to play well.”

One guy who wants to do exceptionally well in Dallas is guard Erick Strickland. The Mavericks invited Strickland to their draft party last June. While he was mingling with fans, he was shipped to the guard-glutted Knicks for first-round pick Donnell Harvey and John Wallace.

Problem is, Strickland, who started 67 games for Dallas last season, is not part of Van Gundy’s regular rotation even in the wake of Charlie Ward’s knee surgery. In the Clippers’ blowout Monday, Strickland was the only Knick not to play. He was supposed to beat out Chris Childs for the backup point guard job but it did not happen – a devastating blow to a player who had planned to escape his contract after the season.

“It will be fun if I get a chance to play,” said Strickland, who was on mostly horrible Maverick teams. “I thought I’d be playing but when Glen [Rice] came over, that made it a little tougher. It’s more disappointing than frustrating. In a contract year, I wanted to do a few things. Other than that, I’m happy. There are great guys. They know I can play. I’m just not.”

Van Gundy wouldn’t commit to playing Strickland against Dallas. Van Gundy said he has seven players set every night – the five starters and Childs and Kurt Thomas – and then he reacts to situations. However, Strickland has impressed as a defensive stopper and against what Van Gundy calls the Mavericks’ “very explosive perimeter players”, Strickland will likely play and could be an important factor in holding down the potent Mavs.

Meanwhile, the Knicks, who will start the controversial “Big Backcourt” for the sixth straight game, needs Rice to produce against a good team, not just the Grizzlies and Clippers of the world. Rice bombed the Clippers Monday with 21 points.

“You haven’t seen me in the zone yet,” Rice said. “Hopefully when I get around to that, you’ll get a chance to witness a great thing.”